Relationship between school organizational climate and attitudes of Chinese general teachers toward inclusive education: A moderated mediation model for teaching efficacy and intergroup contact

Background: General teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education (ATIE) lay a significant impact on the practices of inclusive education. Previous studies have indicated a relationship between school organizational climate (SOC) and the attitudes of Chinese general teachers toward inclusive education. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Aim: We explored the mediating role of teaching efficacy (TE) on the link between SOC and ATIE, as well as the moderating role of intergroup contact (IC) in the relationship between SOC and TE. Method: The participants included 1453 Chinese general teachers who teach students with special needs (SSNs) in general schools. We administered the School-Level Environment Questionnaire, the Attitude Toward Inclusive Education Scale, the Teaching Efficacy Sub-questionnaire on the Motivation of Inclusive Teachers, and the Contact with Disabled Persons Scale. We conducted simple and moderated mediation analyses and employed a simple slope method to further analyze and regulate the conditional indirect effects. Results: (1) SOC positively predicted general teachers' ATIE; (2) TE played a mediating role between SOC and general teachers' ATIE; and (3) IC positively moderated the relationship between SOC and general teachers' TE. Conclusion: The findings have implications for (1) creating an SOC conducive to the promotion of inclusive education, and (2) taking multiple steps to enhance the TE of inclusive education and accumulating IC experience, which is crucial for improving general teachers' ATIE.